Stimulus-ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan Final Determines the Next Generation of Clean-Tech Entrepreneurs Ready to Fix Climate Change One Start-Up at a Time.
The final round of Stimulus-ClimateLaunchpad green business ideas competition with a primary focus on identifying climate change solutions was held in Karachi, Pakistan on August 31st. The competition attracted 100 clean-tech entrepreneurs from across the country who submitted their applications and the top 20 teams competed to determine two best teams that will represent Pakistan at the Global Final competition later this year.
Stimulus-ClimateLaunchpad is the world’s largest green business ideas competition with the mission to unlock the world’s cleantech potential that addresses climate change. Pakistan is participating for the first time in the ClimateLaunchpad program along with 50+ countries.
Geo-Thermal Pakistan from Islamabad won Stimulus-ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan’s first edition. The idea addresses a solution for expensive, inefficient and polluting air conditioners. Second prize winner is Goats for Water from Karachi, and Fruges from Karachi came in third.
Hira Wajahat, National Lead ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan:
“With the first edition of the ClimateLaunchpad competition in Pakistan, it is clear that climate change challenges offer massive business opportunity. Over 100 clean-tech entrepreneurs submitted their ideas and the top 20 have presented their business pitch today. We are excited about these entrepreneurs finding commercial, scalable solutions in a variety of market segments and getting ready for global impact.”
Parallel to the ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan Final, Stimulus organized the Pakistan Clean-Tech Innovation Conference that hosted a number of distinguished business leaders to deliberate critical climate concepts that have a direct impact on Pakistan’s economy and its national well-being. Speakers from various industries shared their experiences and thoughts on steps that need to be taken to overcome these challenges.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Malik Amin Aslam, Federal Minister and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Climate Change said that:
“Pakistan’s takes its role seriously as a responsible member of the global community in combating climate change. The Ministry of Climate Change is giving due importance to mitigation efforts in sectors such as mobility and transport, forestry, industries, energy, urban planning, agriculture, and livestock etc. And these efforts require innovation – new ways of thinking about old problems, and invention – new solutions to existing challenges.”
He also stated that:
“It is very encouraging to see efforts of organizations like Stimulus supporting programs such as ClimateLaunchpad to introduce and promote business start-ups in the country through green-business and clean-tech innovation.”
Mr. Noman Hasan, Executive Director, Lucky Cement spoke about various initiatives undertaken by Lucky Cement for climate change mitigation:
“We place the promotion of environmental sustainability at the highest echelon among our business practices. Signing up with ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan was another significant way for Lucky Cement to lead the way for climate change mitigation efforts outside our immediate business environment. Lucky Cement is committed to enhancing the local economy by supporting homegrown entrepreneurs and innovation. We hope to stimulate others present here today to take similar leaps of faith in their professional and personal capacities so that we may all collectively realize the promise of a greener future for Pakistan.”
Mr. Habib Haider, Head of External Relations at Shell Pakistan said:
“The transition to lower-carbon energy will feature enormous change in the types of products and services Pakistani consumers need. This competition is the perfect example of how we can achieve the shift to a lower-carbon future by bringing together the entrepreneurial innovative needed for this change. The challenge of tackling climate change can only be met through unprecedented collaboration. We welcome efforts made by the government of Pakistan and organizations like Stimulus, the local partner of Climate Launchpad, to collaboratively work towards supporting long-term climate goals that balance environmental pressures with development opportunities.“
Stimulus is an innovative consulting firm that intends to create awareness, symmetry, engagement, and impact via the government, foreign missions and most significantly with the private sector to develop a clean technology/renewables eco-system for Pakistan. For this reason, Stimulus has also signed up with the Ministry of Climate Change for the Prime Minister’s Clean Green Pakistan Initiative.